Mat



Jan. 19, 1937. KLAFF 2,068,029

MAT

Filed Nov. 24, 1936 wwwa/145 Patented Jan. 19, 1937 PATENT OFFICE wirIsaac Klaif, Norfolk, Va., assignor to Louis Klan, Norfolk, Va.

Application November 24, 1938, Serial No. 112,592

BCIaIms.

The present invention relates generally to mats and more. particularlyto that type of flexible mat formed of strips of rubber or rubberizedfabric cut from salvaged automobile tire casings, although othersuitable wear-resistant material may be advantageously employed.

One of the objects of the invention is the construction of a mat of thecharacter specified employing a plurality of strips of rubber orrubberized fabric which strips fall into two groups of varying originallength; the original length of a strip of one group being approximatelythat of the length of the nished mat and the original length of a stripof the other group being materially greater than the length of thefinished mat.

A further aim is the making of a flexible mat of the type indicated inwhich no separate spacing elements are requiredrbetween adjacent strips,the spacing being accomplished by transversely slitting andlongitudinally folding spaced portions of each of the longer strips.

Still another purpose of the invention is to make a mat of the kindabove identified with a` minimum of material and with a minimum ofeiiort; which mat will be strong and durable in use and of a noveldesign and appearance.

Other aims and objects of the invention will be apparent from thedetailed description hereinafter appearing when taken in conjunctionwith the drawing forming a part hereof to winch reference is now madeand in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the mat.

Fig. 2 is a. side elevational view of the mat shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of a pl rality of similar stripsused in the construction of the mat.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a portion of thestrip of Fig. 3 showing the manner of folding same for use inconstructing the mat.

Fig. 5 is a. .sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The first step in the construction of the mat A herein disclosed is thecutting of preferably sal-- vaged automobile tire casings into a'plurality of narrow longitudinal strips which fall into two groupsprimarily classied as to original length. Each of the similar flexiblestrips I0 forming group one is of an original length approximately equalto the length of the mat to be fabricated, and each of the similarflexible strips I I forming group two is of somewhat less thickness thanthe strips III comprising group one and of an original length materiallygreater than each of these strips, and therefore, of the length of thefinished flexible mat. However, the length of each of strips Ii afterfolding and mounting, that is, in the finished mat, is approximately 5equal to the length of the mat as will be more fully pointed outhereinafter.,

Referring for the moment to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the strips IIIof group one are arranged in spaced parallel rows, two of these stripsdesignated as III* and |01' are marginal strips between which arelocated the other strips I0 and the strips II of group two. Each of thestrips III, I3* and I0h is provided with a plurality oflongitudinally-spaced and transversely-extending apertures I2.

By referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that each strip II is providedwith a plurality of transverse apertures I3, arranged in groups ofthree, and with a series of transversely extend- 20 ing slits I4 and I5;and it will further be noted that the slits I4 and I5 are locatedintermediate the end apertures and the central aperture of each group ofapertures I3. The slit I4 is made by cutting transversely through thestrip I I from one side face thereof with the slit terminating short ofthe opposite side face of the strip. The slit I5 is, however, madev in areverse manner from that of slit I 4 that is, by slitting transf verselythrough the face designated above as the 30 opposite face up to butshort of the face-of the strip from which slit I4 originated.

A plurality of apertured bearing plates I6 are arranged in spacedrelation along the outside face of the marginal strip Ilia. A piece ofwire I'I is bent into rectangular shape to form rod elements I8 and I 3,there being one wire I 1 for each bearing plate I6. The rod elements I8and I3 are inserted through the apertured bearing plate I6 and throughapertures I2 in mar- 40 ginal strip Iii.. A strip I I is exedlongitudinally in one direction on the slit I4 as an axis to formabutting spacer members 20, 2| and then exed in the opposite directionusing the slit I5 as an axis to form a connecting portion 22, the endsof which form spacer members 23 and 24, see Fig. 4. This results inbringing the three adjacentv apertures I3 into alignment. y Similarly,the rest of the strip II is flexed using the other slits I4 and I5 asaxes to form 50 additional intermediate spacer members 2| and connectingportions 22. :From the above, it will be clearly seen that when thefolded strip II is positioned in contact with the marginal strip II)land the next .strip Ill brought into contact with 55 strip II, theconnecting portions 22 will be curved, due to the flexible nature 'ofthe strip,

to the shape shown in Fig. 1i.l The mat A is built up by alternatingstrips I -and II, all of which are held in position by means of the rodelements I8 and I9 which pass through the apertures I2 in strips I0 andthe aligned apertures I3 in the folded strips II. Apertured bearingplates I6 are arranged in spaced relation along the outside face ofmarginal strip I. The rod elements I8 and I8 are passed thru theapertures in these plates and the ends thereof are inwardly bent as at25 and 28, said ends being inserted in a sleeve 21.

From the above description it will be appreciated that the mat is builtup by ilrst providing a marginal strip III, then a strip II folded. asdescribed to form the spacer members 20, 2i

and the connecting portion 22, the ends of which form additional spacermembers 23, 24. The connecting portions 22 assume a curved shape due tothe flexible nature of the strips II and the fact that the. strips IIIare forced against the strips II and held in this condition by the rodkelements I8 and I9 which pass through apertures I2 in each of thestrips I Il and marginal strips I- and II)b and through alignedapertures I3 in each of the slit and folded'strips II.

A mat constructed as described above has been found to be very durableand to have a wide field of usefulness. It may be made up in varioussizes depending on whether it is to be used as a door mat, as a runneron stairs and the like. Further, it is not essential to the principle ofthe invention that there be provided alternate straight and foldedstrips, as a mat may be constructed using only the slit and folded 1strips.

lVarious other changes and modifications may be made to embody thespirit and purpose of the invention and it is contemplated to cover suchvariations and to be limited in this respect only as may be necessary bythe scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A mat comprising a plurality of longitudinally-extending strips,certain of said strips being transversely slit and folded to form spacermembers therealong. and means securing all of said strips together.

2. A mat comprising a plurality of longitudinally-extending strips,certain of said strips being straight, other of said strips beingtransversely slit and folded to form spacer members therea-long, andmeans securing all of said strips together.

3. A mat comprising aplurality of longitudinallyxtending strips, certainof said strips being straight, other of said strips being transverselyslit and folded to form spacer members therealong, said straight andfolded strips being alternated, and means securing all of said stripstogether.

4. A mat comprising a plurality of longitu- I dinally-extending strips,certain of said strips being transversely slit and folded to form spacermembers therealong, said slit and folded strips being of an originallength greater than the length of the finished mat, and means securingall of said strips together.

5. A mat comprising a plurality of longitudinally-extending strips,certain of said strips being straight and of a length equal to that ofthe finished mat, other of said strips being transversely slit andfolded to form spacer members therealong, said slit and folded stripsbeing of an original length greater than that of the nished mat, andmeans securing all of said strips together.

6. A mat comprising a plurality of longitudinally-extending strips,certain of said strips being straight and of a length equal to that ofthe finished mat, other of said strips being transversely slit andfolded to form spacer members therealong, said slit and folded stripsbeing of an original length greater than that of the iinished mat, saidstraight and folded strips being alternated, and means of securing al1of said strips together. f 7. In a mat having a plurality of stripssecured together, means for holding said strips in spaced relation toeach other'I said means comprising a transversely slit and foldedflexible strip forming superposed spacer members.

8. A mat comprising a plurality of separate strips of flexible material,certain of said strips being straight, other of said strips beingtransversely slit and folded to form spacer members therealong, saidfolded 'strips and its spacer members being' interposed between saidstraight strips to uniformly space the latter, and means securing all ofsaid strips together.

ISAAC KLAFF.

